


I Wonder That You Will Still Be Talking

by Meilan_Firaga



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 18:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13980582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meilan_Firaga/pseuds/Meilan_Firaga
Summary: Much Ado About Nothing is neither set during the winter holidays nor the funniest of the Shakespearean comedies. How, then, has Severus come to be acting in the role of Benedick opposite Hermione Granger's Beatrice the night before the students go home for said winter holidays?





	I Wonder That You Will Still Be Talking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rayvyn2k](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayvyn2k/gifts).



> Written for rayvyn2k for the 2014 Twelve Days of Hogwarts Christmas Party at [HoggyWartyXmas](http://hoggywartyxmas.livejournal.com).

It was bad enough to have survived the bloody snake attack in the first place. The unfortunate Healer who'd explained that he was still alive was honestly lucky to have escaped with little more than bruised feelings. It was bad enough that he'd returned to his old job. He'd thought he might at least have gotten the Defense Against the Dark Arts post instead of being shoved back into Potions where some hapless moron melted a cauldron at least once a week. It was bad enough that the human race's most insufferable know-it-all had been given the post that he so coveted.  
  
Actually, once term was in full swing that last one turned out not to be so bad. The war had changed Granger--in his mind for the better. While she never directly insulted a student (more's the pity) she gained a reputation as a "brutal taskmistress with impossible expectations" within the first week. She didn't even mind, and he was--with the utmost secrecy--terribly proud.  
  
Anyhow, back to the subject at hand. All of that had been bad enough. Life continued as though decades of subservience to two masters didn't matter in the least and he had honestly thought he could handle it. This, though? This was entirely too much.  
  
"I'll not hear another protest on this, Severus," Minerva had told him just after Halloween. "It is a one time performance. The Sorting Hat selected the cast so there would be no questioning the choices. Those selections aside, I think you're perfect for the role, and Merlin knows you've had the experience acting."  
  
That single fated conversation was how Severus Snape, famed evil bat Potions Master of Hogwarts, came to be dressed in Shakespearean finery the night before the students would return home for the holidays. He'd decided he was lucky early on that he had such a biting wit in common with his own character. It had also occurred to him quite early in the rehearsal process that he'd been lucky to be cast opposite Granger as well. The girl--no, woman--was just as acerbic as he in expressing her displeasure at Minerva's foray into the entertainment industry. However, quite unlike him, Granger's stubborn perfectionist streak had taken the play as just one more challenge to be conquered. She'd insisted on running lines for their scenes together whenever they both had a few moments to spare.   
  
Which, of course, had led to the two of them taking their afternoon tea together every day for just over a month. Severus had learned a great deal about Hermione Granger in between running lines. She was absolutely tenacious, though he’d always known that. What managed to surprise him was that she was actually quite funny. Her sense of humor was so very similar to his--dry and sarcastic where others might be loud and overstated. She was well read in both muggle and wizarding literature and more than capable of following any conversational threads he could spin out. He’d often found himself waiting for their stolen rehearsal time in hopes that it would devolve into more conversation. Alone for his own safety as well as his coveted solitude since Lily’s death, Severus had actually forgotten what it was to enjoy conversation.  
  
Still, all the stimulating conversation he’d gained might not be worth the humiliation of playing in Shakespeare for a hall full of dunderheads that probably had no clue who the Bard was. He rolled his neck on his shoulders as he waited in the wings for the play to begin. Minerva hadn’t even scheduled the play for a day light on classes. He’d gone straight from his final class of the afternoon to the rooms off to the side of the Great Hall that the Headmistress had transformed into dressing rooms and changed into his costume. He was tired, his back ached, and the absolute last thing he wanted to do was trot about on stage to play make believe.  
  
“Just a few more hours and it’s all over with, Severus.” It was only years as a spy that kept him from starting as Granger materialized behind him and ghosted a hand over his shoulder. “Surely you can save your brooding until after?” She drifted into his peripheral, a tiny smile quirking one corner of her mouth. Her hair had been tamed back into gentle curls, and he couldn’t help but think that he preferred them wild.  
  
“A few hours too many if you ask me,” he grumbled, pointedly not turning to face her. “We never should have been subjected to this atrocity in the first place.”  
  
“Of course we shouldn’t have, but since there’s no getting out of it, we might as well have a bit of fun with it.” That got his attention. He finally turned to face her.  
  
“I can’t imagine how any of this could be considered fun, Miss Granger.”  
  
“How many times must I insist that you call me Hermione, Severus?”  
  
“At least as many times as I will insist that you refer to me as Professor Snape.”  
  
“Stalemate it is.” She turned her face away from him, a smirk that he couldn’t see as anything but suspicious crossing her face. “Personally, I’d like to take this perfect opportunity to have a little fun with our students’ perceptions. If you decide you agree, just play along. You’ll know when.” With that annoyingly cryptic remark she turned and flounced away from him. He had no chance to chase her down for clarification. The lights in the Great Hall dimmed, and Minerva stepped out onto the stage to announce the opening of the play.  
  
He didn’t have an inkling as to what was going on until well into the show. Minerva had taken several directorial liberties with the play, starting with an increase to the number of stage kisses shared between Beatrice and Benedick. He and Granger had griped about them at great length in their sessions, taking great care to practice making things look real without having them be real. So, no one was more surprised than he when, at the first scheduled kiss, Granger turned them both with their sides facing the audience and planted her lips directly on his. Not, of course, that the gasping (cursing, heaving, they really had varied reactions) students were aware of it. She danced away from him just as quickly, continuing on with her lines. When their eyes finally met a moment later--hers sparkling with mirth--he didn’t need Legilimency to know that this was her plan. After that he met her kiss for kiss, trying his damnedest to focus on the amusement generated by the surprise rising up from the students and not the softness of her lips against his or the way her perfume tickled his sensitive nose.  
  
Severus finished out the play in a daze, hardly noticing that he didn’t miss a single line. Under the spelled stage lights, his focus narrowed until it was only Granger and their dance of words and actions. The entire cast had taken its second bow and the curtains dropped by the time he realized that everything was actually over. Suddenly, Minerva was beside him, sparkling in a way that was entirely too reminiscent of Albus for his comfort. The older woman nudged him with her elbow.  
  
“I do say, Severus, I wasn’t quite expecting that much enthusiasm from you and our Miss Granger given your vehement protests,” she assured him, “and I certainly wasn’t expecting such dedication to the romance.” She was gone before he’d even managed a sharp retort, calling back over her shoulder. “We’re having a cast party in the staff lounge once the students are settled in for the night!”  
  
A burning indignation crept upon him, and he started to get angry. He’d never wanted to be a part of any of this, and thanks to two conniving, evil,  _Gryffindor_  women he had not only played a part but done so exceptionally well. He stomped through the dressing area toward the Great Hall, transfiguring his costume into his standard billowing robes as he went. By the time he emerged at the head of the Slytherin table he was scowling. He rounded the students up and sent them off to bed in record time, docking points all the while, and retreated to his office. He slammed the door open, stomped in, and froze. There, perched upon the edge of his desk, was Hermione Granger, her nose buried in a worn book.  
  
“I thought you might get huffy and decide to skip the cast party,” she mused, not even glancing up from the book in her hands. “I’ll admit, I don’t find myself in much of a celebratory mood either.” Her head popped up and tilted to the side as she amended, “at least, not a very public one.”  
  
Innuendo not lost, Severus felt his hackles raise. “There’s no audience to pander to here, Miss Granger,” he snarled. “I suggest you run along to the party.”  
  
With a snort, she leveled a serious gaze on him. “In all my years I have never kissed a man I did not want to kiss, Severus--audience or no.”  
  
He froze a mixture of shock and denial coursing through him. Before he could settle on either, his mouth had already begun a tirade of its own. “Don’t be ridiculous, Miss Granger. We are colleagues and instructors. We have neither the time nor the luxury to break such professional bounda--”  
  
“I wonder that you will still be talking, Severus,” Hermione interrupted, setting her book aside, sliding directly into his personal space (when had she gotten to her feet?), and twining her arms about his neck. Standing on the tips of her toes, she leaned in to press a quick kiss to his mouth, dragging her teeth briefly over his bottom lip. “Clearly we have far more interesting things to be doing.”  
  
For the first time since Halloween, Severus thought it might be in his best interest not to protest.


End file.
